Federal Register Summary for week of 10 August

Agriculture

Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture; Notice of Meeting

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5
U.S.C. App. 2, the United States Department of Agriculture announces a
meeting of the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century
Agriculture (AC21).

DATES: The meeting dates are August 27-28, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
each day.

Commerce

Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of open public meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a
forthcoming meeting of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC).
The members will discuss and provide advice on issues outlined in the
agenda below.

U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Advisory Committee

AGENCY: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the U.S. Integrated
Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Advisory Committee (Committee) in
Washington, DC.

DATES AND TIMES: The meeting will be held on Wednesday August 29, 2012,
from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Thursday August 30, 2012, from 8:30 a.m.
to 3 p.m. These times and the agenda topics described below are subject
to change. Refer to the Web page listed below for the most up-to-date
meeting agenda.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Consortium for Ocean
Leadership, 1201 New York Ave. NW., Washington, DC, 20005.

Energy

Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee

SUMMARY: This notice announces an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (Public Law No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that
agencies publish these notices in the Federal Register.

Health and Human Services

Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the
Council of Councils.

The meeting will be open to the public as indicated below, with
attendance limited to space available. Individuals who plan to attend
and need special assistance, such as sign language interpretation or
other reasonable accommodations, should notify the Contact Person
listed below in advance of the meeting.

The meeting will be closed to the public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(9)(B), Title 5
U.S.C., as amended. The closed portion of the meeting is likely to
include disclosure of trade secrets and/or commercial or confidential
financial information obtained from a person. In addition, it is likely
that premature disclosure of the matters to be discussed would
significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action.

Name of Committee: Council of Councils.

Date: September 5, 2012.
Open: 8:30 a.m. to 1:35 p.m.

Agenda: DPCPSI and NIH Updates, Comparative Medicine Research
Training Opportunities and Update on Working Group on Chimpanzees in
NIH-Supported Research.

Any interested person may file written comments with the
committee by forwarding the statement to the Contact Person listed
on this notice. The statement should include the name, address,
telephone number and when applicable, the business or professional
affiliation of the interested person. Information is also available
on the Council of Council's home page at http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/council/. Where an agenda and proposals to be discussed will be
posted before the meeting date.

In the interest of security, NIH has instituted stringent
procedures for entrance onto the NIH campus. All visitor vehicles,
including taxicabs, hotel, and airport shuttles will be inspected
before being allowed on campus. Visitors will be asked to show one
form of identification (for example, a government-issued photo ID,
driver's license, or passport) and to state the purpose of their
visit.

Interior

Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of an extension of currently approved information
collection.

SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC)
1028-0103 described below. To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (PRA) and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal
agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This
collection is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2013.

Type of Request: Notice of an extension of a currently approved
information collection.

Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.

Abstract: The USA-NPN is a program sponsored by the USGS that uses
standardized forms for tracking plant and animal activity as part of a project called Nature's Notebook. The
Nature's Notebook forms are used to record phenology (e.g., timing of
leafing or flowering of plants and reproduction or migration of
animals) as part of a nationwide effort to understand and predict how
plants and animals respond to environmental variation and changes in
weather and climate. Contemporary data collected through Nature's
Notebook are quality-checked, described and made publicly available;
data are used to inform decision-making in a variety of contexts,
including agriculture, drought monitoring, and wildfire risk
assessment. Phenological information is also critical for the
management of wildlife, invasive species, and agricultural pests, and
for understanding and managing risks to human health and welfare,
including allergies, asthma, and vector-borne diseases. Participants
may contribute phenology information to Nature's Notebook through a
browser-based web application or via mobile applications for iPhone and
Android operating systems, meeting GPEA requirements. The web
application interface consists several components: User registration, a
searchable list of 877 plant and animal species which can be observed;
a "profile'' for each species that contains information about the
species including its description and the appropriate monitoring
protocols; a series of interfaces for registering as an observer,
registering a site, registering plants and animals at a site,
generating datasheets to take to the field, and a data entry page that
mimics the datasheets.

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Strategic Plan 2013-2017

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Strategic Plan; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
announces the availability of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force
Strategic Plan 2013--2017 (Plan), approved by the Aquatic Nuisance
Species Task Force (ANSTF). The Plan is available for public review and
comment.

DATES: Comments must be received within 45 days after September 20,
2012.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Strategic Plan are available on the
ANSTF Web site, http://anstaskforce.gov. To obtain a hard copy of the
Strategic Plan or to submit comments, see Document Availability and
Public Comment under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.